Brandon Pylar was a late entry in last weekend’s National Underclassmen Five-Star Showcase in Kissimmee.

He was under the weather during the first part of the week but still decided to attend the invitation-only event that showcased some of the best high school football prospects in the state, especially the middle Florida beltway along the I-4 corridor.

He’s glad he decided to attend. The Orlando University High tight end showed no ill effects from his illness in impressive camp coaches so much so that he was named the tight ends MVP.

“It was fun to come out here and compete with everyone,” said Pylar. “[Winning MVP] felt good. There were a lot of great tight ends out there and it felt good to compete with them to see where I’m at.”

Pylar, the No. 15-ranked prospect in the Sentinel’s 2014 Central Florida Super60 who is taking an unofficial visit to Auburn this weekend, needed a little boost and the MVP showing at the NUC camp might be exactly what his recruiting profile needed.

“I feel like I need to keep working and get out there a little bit more. I’m still waiting on my first offer but hopefully once that first one comes they’ll all start coming,” Pylar said.

A gifted pass-catching tight end, Pylar caught 22 passes for 407 yards and four touchdowns last season, but the Cougars did not go to the air often. They didn’t need to.

University, the Class 8A, District 3 champs, had one of the best rushing attacks in Central Florida, averaging about 150 yards per game. Pylar’s blocking skills, as well as him being a constant receiving threat, was a big part of it — as was gifted offensive tackle King Belin. Pylar, however, said blocking is a part of his game he’d like to improve.

“[The NUC Camp] helps me see where I’m at compared to other tight ends,” Pylar said. “It helped me see what I need to work on and I might have learned a few things from some of them out there, too.

“I’m still working hard in the weight room, getting stronger in my legs so my blocking will be a lot better this year.”

Pylar will be looking to put on some added weight this offseason to give him more of an advantage against linebackers, but his pass-catching skills already provide defensive backs with a huge challenge in matchup issues. Not only does he have great hands, but Pylar shows speed as well. He runs a 4.7-second 40-yard dash and University coach Don Stark oftern sends him out wide.

University had a bit of a breakout season last year with marquee wins over teams like Timber Creek and Winter Park. The Cougars, said Pylar, are looking for more this season.

“We’ve been training really hard this offseason and I’m just ready. I really miss it … miss football,” he said. “Last year it just showed that all the hard work we put in finally started paying off and it was great. I was so proud of the whole team working hard the whole season.

“This offseason some of the guys still need to step up because some of them are still slacking a little, but the leaders need to pick them up and keep us going strong. With strong leadership we’ll do just like we did last year.”